In a situation that presumably reflects the ever tightening gas supply situation in Alaska's Cook Inlet basin, ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy had to suspend oil production at its two Middle Ground Shoal platforms in the inlet because of a shortage of natural gas, an XTO spokesman told Petroleum News in a Nov. 15 email.

"The suspension is due to a temporary supply shortage of natural gas needed to power the platforms," he said. "XTO should shortly have both platforms fully operational."

At the time of going to press XTO had not provided an update on the situation.

As production declines from the aging gas fields of the Cook Inlet basin, gas and power utilities in Southcentral Alaska have been alerting people to the tightening gas supply situation andVisit Anchorage Daily News for full article